The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-02-05
Srecia1 Contributors.
THE VALLEY OF THE JORDAN.
BY REV. r. o. WILLIAMS.
Upper Lisle, n. "

The land of Palestine is very remark
able. It's a country of lofty hills, deep
valleys, stupendous precipices and dark,
dank caverns. A mountain range eX-
tends with numerous peaks along the
Mediterranean coast from the noun
tains Of Lebanon to the Idumean des-
ert. The hills of this ridge slope from
their SUBMITS in numerous bold decliv
tiles toward the ''great sea" on the
west, and often still bolder on the east
toward the valley Of the Jordan. The
mountains are said to be chiefly lime
stone-a fact from which geOlogists
have inferred, that at a period incOn-
ceivably remote in the past, long before
the Alps were lifted up, or the Nledi-
terranean had its place, the whole land
of Canaan and all thesurr0unding lands,
lay for countless ages beneath the wa
ters of the ocean. Thus the various
families of microscopic animals, polyps,
rhizopOds and other protOZoans, worked
long and laboriously, built their little
houses, died and left them vacant.
Their descendants spurned the work
and the wealth of their ancestors. Each
must build new home and increase
the commonwealth. Thus numerous
ridges of limestone have been formed in
different parts of the earth by these in
defatigable little workers, Just as coral
reefs are formed at the present day.
The valley of the Jordan is one of
the most remarkable depressions in that
singular and notable country, perhaps
in the whole world. The river has its
sources in the mountains of Lebanon,
partly perhaps in the ''dews of Her
mon," and flows through the small lake
Merom, which is shallow and often dry;
thence through the "sea of Genesareth,
and at last loses itself in the sluggish
waters of the Dead Sea. What is very
remarkable, is the fact that the waters
of this stream flow through almost
their whole course, in channel much
below the level of the Mediterranean
sea. The surface of the Genesareth is
more than six hundred feet, (622), and
the Dead Sea over thirteen hundred
feet, 1312) below the surface level of
the Mediterranean. On the sides of
the hills declining to the east, there
gush out numerous living springs, as if
the waters of that sea were percolating
the intervening hills and furnishing
supplies which, with the common rains,
have worn great channels in the lime
rock down to the bed of the Jordan.
Among these is the old gorge of the
Kedron, on which still stands the an
cient monastery Of st. Sabas, built in
the sixth century. The waters have
worn very deep ravine along the
thready track of this brooklet.
Here comes a curious question. The
valley of the Jordan is like a great
chasm, scooped out between lofty hills
by some marvellous force in far dist
ant age. How was it made made for
the river to run in 50 deeply, and yet
end so abruptly in stagnant lake?
That lake, or sea, has itself depth of
thirteen hundred feet 1300) below its
surface, making the whole chasm quite
a half mile in perpendicular depth
below the surface of the Mediterranean
sea. The question comes again with
deeper interest. How was this deep
chasm excayated Was it worn down
by the action of immense floods in the
great ages past-the post tertiary or
the glacial period In the Rocky Noun
tains the surface water seems to have
found deep riffs, caused possibly by
slow upheavals, into which they have
madly entered, rushed, struggled, worn
and torn out the great canyons as We
now see them.
Not so with this big Palestinian eX-
cavation. Here the case is different.
The whole surrounding country gives
evidence of volcanic action. No aque-
GUS disturbance is apparent, except in
the deposit of salt beds near the south
ern extremity of the Dead Sea, at some
very remote period in the worlds great
movements. How were these beds
laid, so low down below the neighbor-
ing seas ? Has the underpinning been
knocked out, as props in Pennsylya-
MIA coal mine, and the channel of the
Jordan and Dead Sea sunk to their
present condition Some great yOlca-